AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St. Mary's Gaels looks to pass the ball against Geron Johnson #55 of the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St....

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 and head coach Randy Bennett of the St. Mary's Gaels react after Dellavedova missed the last shot attempt of the game as they lost 54-52 against the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 and head coach...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: D.J. Stephens #30 of the Memphis Tigers dunks on Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St. Mary's Gaels in the second half during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: D.J. Stephens #30 of the Memphis...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Beau Levesque #15 of the St. Mary's Gaels goes up for a shot attempt in the seocnd half against Geron Johnson #55 and Tarik Black #10 of the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Beau Levesque #15 of the St. Mary's...

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Matthew Dellavedova reacts to his last-second miss, as does St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett.

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

Matthew Dellavedova reacts to his last-second miss, as does St....

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Matthew Dellavedova is comforted by Kyle Rowley after missing at the finish of his final college game.

Photo: Paul Sancya, Associated Press

Matthew Dellavedova is comforted by Kyle Rowley after missing at...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: D.J. Stephens #30 of the Memphis Tigers attempts a shot in the second half against Mitchell Young #3 of the St. Mary's Gaels during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: D.J. Stephens #30 of the Memphis...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: A cheerleader for the St. Mary's Gaels performs in the first half against the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: A cheerleader for the St. Mary's...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St. Mary's Gaels attempts a shot in the first half against the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St....

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: A cheerleader for the Memphis Tigers performs against the St. Mary's Gaels during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: A cheerleader for the Memphis Tigers...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Brad Waldow #00 of the St. Mary's Gaels attempts a shot in the second half against the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Brad Waldow #00 of the St. Mary's...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Memphis Tigers talks to his players during a timeout against the St. Mary's Gaels during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Josh Pastner of the...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Geron Johnson #55 of the Memphis Tigers fights for a rebound against Kyle Rowley #5 of the St. Mary's Gaels during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Geron Johnson #55 of the Memphis...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Randy Bennett of the St. Mary's Gaels looks on against the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Randy Bennett of the St....

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Memphis Tigers talks with Chris Crawford #3 against the St. Mary's Gaels during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Head coach Josh Pastner of the...

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St. Mary's Gaels fights for a looseball against Shaq Goodwin #5 of the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St....

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AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St. Mary's Gaels fights for a looseball against Shaq Goodwin #5 of the Memphis Tigers during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 21, 2013 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Photo: Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

AUBURN HILLS, MI - MARCH 21: Matthew Dellavedova #4 of the St....

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Memphis head coach Josh Pastner motions for his team to defend against St. Mary's in the first half of a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 21, 2013, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

On the verge of a storybook finish in an NCAA Tournament game against Memphis on Thursday, St. Mary's instead had to deal with the end of its season.

After Matthew Dellavedova's three-point try from the right side just before the buzzer went way long, the Gaels had fallen 54-52.

Soon thereafter, head coach Randy Bennett spoke in what he termed "the toughest locker room I've been in."

Bennett described the scene: "There were a lot of tears. ... That's the way it should be. I told them that. ... You guys should care this much, and they did.

"So, I just told them how proud I was of them."

Said Dellavedova: "The emotions were pretty raw."

Dellavedova's emotions were so raw that he bypassed the postgame news conference. The senior guard did meet the media in the locker room following the news conference.

The Gaels, down by 15 in the first half and still down by seven with less than a minute to go, trailed 54-49 before little-used Eividas Petrulis banked home a three with about three seconds remaining. St. Mary's deficit was two.

The Tigers committed a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, so the Gaels had a chance to tie or win it as they inbounded the ball in the corner with 1.9 seconds left.

Dellavedova received the pass. On Jan. 16 at BYU, his shot from just inside mid-court beat the buzzer and the Cougars 70-69. On March 9 against San Diego in the WCC tournament, his trey with six seconds to go tied the game, one St. Mary's would win 69-66 in overtime.

So what were his teammates thinking when Dellavedova let fly from the right side?

"The guy has made some miraculous shots in his career, so when he let it go, of course you're going to think it's in," junior forward Beau Levesque said. "I was definitely shocked that it didn't go in."

Said sophomore center Brad Waldow, who had a game-high 17 points: "We all thought it was going in. We knew it was going to go in, but it just didn't fall."

Dellavedova said, "It was straight, but too much on it. ... It was a good look."

The Tigers' defense didn't give Dellavedova many good looks. He went 3-for-13 from the floor, but his all-around play - including seven assists - was what Bennett stressed.

"Matt wasn't the problem at all," Bennett said. "Matt was the solution. Matt was why we had a chance at the end."

The Gaels shot 19-for-58 (32.8 percent) from the floor, including 3-for-15 from long range. Stephen Holt (1-for-10) and Levesque (2-for-8) put up some unsightly field-goal numbers.

So, the sixth-seeded Tigers (31-4) advanced to face third-seed Michigan State on Saturday. The Spartans (26-8) built a 27-point lead en route to dusting Valparaiso 65-54.

The 11th-seeded Gaels took a late flight Thursday night back to the Bay Area. They finish their season with a 28-7 record.

"This might be his last game," Levesque said, "but his legacy that he's left on this program is far from over. He set the bar really high for what it means to be a leader in our program, and what it means to be a worker, a friend, a teammate. He's the complete package.

"It's going to hurt missing him, but he's left a blueprint that we can try to follow."